The Star Wars creator recalls building the movie empire, while actors Peter Mayhew, Hayden Christensen and Anthony Daniels share their own amusing memories.<\/b>
George Lucas, this is your life.
The creator of the Star Wars saga surprised fans Thursday at the Star Wars Celebration in Orlando, Florida, appearing for the whole Star Wars at 40 panel alongside such familiar faces as Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford (also a surprise), Anthony Daniels, Billy Dee Williams, Ian McDiarmid and Hayden Christensen.
The conversations offered a look back at the makings of a galaxy far, far away, with Lucas and actors sharing memories. And as part of a tribute to the late Carrie Fisher , her daughter Billie Lourd took the stage to speak about her mom alongside an emotional video.
George Lucas was the surprise man of the hour at the Star Wars at 40 panel.
Lucas spoke about the origins of the Star Wars franchise to host Warwick Davis, whom Lucas noted was hired to appear in 1983’s \u00a0\u00bb Return of the Jedi \u00a0\u00bb at age 11 and now has gray hair. Lucas admitted that Star Wars was made as a film for 12-year-olds.
\u00ab\u00a0The idea was simply to do a high adventure film with meaningful, psychological themes,\u00a0\u00bb Lucas said. Expanding on the 12-year-old motif, he said \u00ab\u00a0A New Hope\u00a0\u00bb was a way to show how a young character is told it’s time to join the real world, and the various pieces of advice he’s given to function within it.
When it came to casting the three lead characters of Luke Skywalker, Han Solo and Princess Leia Organa, Lucas said a variety of screen tests took place in an attempt to find which combination of actors could immediately become an ensemble.
(L-R) Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, George Lucas and Warwick Davis at the Star Wars at 40 panel.
\u00ab\u00a0I wanted them to have the chemistry of working together built in,\u00a0\u00bb Lucas said.
In the case of Ford, being discovered may also have something to do with a very different job — carpentry.
Ford had a small role in Lucas’ 1973 film \u00ab\u00a0American Graffiti,\u00a0\u00bb following which he returned to installing doors for people such as Francis Ford Coppola. While there was some debate on the exact details, Ford said Lucas happened to stop by during the install of Coppola’s door and it led to them chatting about a science-fiction film being worked on.
\u00ab\u00a0He got the part because in the end I asked him … I said do you know how to fly,\u00a0\u00bb Lucas said.
\u00ab\u00a0I said, fly yeah, land… \u00a0\u00bb Ford deadpanned.
Billie Lourd spoke of her mother, and delivered a great Leia monologue, at Star Wars Celebration.
The event took a somber turn when paying tribute to Fisher, who passed away at age 60 in December after suffering a heart attack on an airplane. Lourd spoke of her mother’s dedication to the fan base, and popped out a \u00ab\u00a0You’re my only hope\u00a0\u00bb monologue as if she were Princess Leia, too.
\u00ab\u00a0When she surrounded herself with fans at celebrations like this, she never felt more at home,\u00a0\u00bb Lourd said. \u00ab\u00a0If left to her own devices, she would always be the last one to leave the convention center. \u00a0\u00bb
Actors Hayden Christensen and Ian McDiarmid spoke about their time playing very Sith-like roles in the Star Wars saga.<\/p>\n